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Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

So I like making people vote for things. It may be some strange sort of addiction. Either way I've got three ideas for soulknife fixes, and yes I know there are plenty of fully functional soulknife fixes (DSP's for PF for example), but sometimes I just feel like re-inventing the wheel.

So the three ideas are:

Sublime Soulknife

Spoiler: Ideas

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Gains a small amount of PP (less than PsyWar) but no psionic powers.
Recovery Method: Expend Psionic Focus to recover all maneuvers except those used this round (cannot use maneuvers in the same round you recover them this way).
Warblade maneuvers readied, but +5 maneuvers known (may drop to warblade known depending upon number and potency of class features).
Ability to burn PP to get a second immediate action only usable for a counter.
Ability to burn PP to regain psionic focus as a free action.
Ability to burn PP to gain bonus damage (equal to PP spent, max IL) on a single attack.
Expend psionic focus to use maneuver with a thrown mind blade. X/day throw mindblade and make it explode and AoE strike.
Maybe Will save only Mettle when psionicly focused. Maybe Evasion when psionicly focused. Maybe Wis to AC when in light or no armor… and psionicly focused.
This would probably be the easiest/quickest.

Soulknife as an Invoker (i.e. uses Invocations)

Spoiler: Ideas

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Psi-like Invocations – Requires creation of many new invocations, suggestions welcome.
Expend psionic focus to gain bonus to (hit and?) damage with mind blade until end of turn? Or maybe just have bonus damage from ‘Eldritch Essences’
‘Eldritch Essences’ grant debuff on strikes, most are 1/target (per full attack).
‘Blast Shapes’ allow you to gain the ability to throw your soulknife, make it explode in a burst, whirlwind full attack, etc.
Get 12 invocations, +8 EE/BS invocations (blow warlock’s numbers out of the water? Yes, but still shouldn’t make them more than tier 3 unless there are simply broken options).
Figure out some actual class features as all the Soulknife ones except Free Draw and getting magic weapon properties would end up as invocations. Maybe Will only mettle when focused, possibly Charisma as insight bonus to saves when Psionicly focused. Ability to overcome DR when focused.
Charisma focus.

Soulknife as a Meldshaper (i.e. putting the Soul into the Knife)

Spoiler: Ideas

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Incarnate level essentia, but shapes and chakra binds between Totemist and Soulborn.
Extra essentia receptacles, specifically their soulknife (enhancement bonus equal to invested essentia).
Non-psionic.
Probably still get (at least some variation of) throw mindblade, psychic strike (as an essentia receptacle which empties when used), and whirlwind attack, AoE throw mindblade.
Want some non-meldshape receptacles for essentia. Might reduce their essentia (compared to incarnate) by 5 and give them 5 bonus incarnum feats or some such.
This one is probably the hardest for me and suggestions are welcome.

So how this works is you will get to vote for which of the three ideas you like best, and feel free to make suggestions for any of them. When I randomly decide to close voting I will make the one that has the most votes. I may then proceed to make the one with the 2nd most votes, and possibly even all three depending upon mood and when I get sick of soulknifing, but you at least get to vote the order.

Re: Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

I think the meldshaper soulknife could be done really well. A suggestion would be, that instead of the mind weapon being a receptacle, that it's actually a chakra, where the soulmeld shaped there determines its effects.

Re: Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

Originally Posted by caledscratcher

I think the meldshaper soulknife could be done really well. A suggestion would be, that instead of the mind weapon being a receptacle, that it's actually a chakra, where the soulmeld shaped there determines its effects.

Originally Posted by khadgar567

kind a agreed with you making knife a chakra allows unique melds to both empower the class and give new ways to do things

It does. I tried something similar with Conduit and Warshaper (I think that's what I called it? I can't even find the MSword doc anymore... and it'd have been useful here). It's also an order of magnitude more work than I want to do here, possibly as demonstrated by the fact that despite making things like Tall Tale, Freelancer, Simic Biomancer, and Dragon Soul Acolyte I never finished the Conduit or Warshaper but they died (while working on melds and chakra binds) before I was ready to post them.

I might be reinventing the wheel here, but I am not going to make the 30-40 blade binds needed to make a new blade chakra work. At least not at this time. I mean I might succeed now, I've got more experience in making soulmelds, but it's still a step above what I want to put in here. I might make it so they can attach their soulknife to a chakra to gain additional benefits similar to a chakra bind, however.

Re: Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

I'm intrigued by the notion of the soulknife as an incarnum user instead of a psionic character, especially considering that there are already incarnum abilities that work well with the mind blade, and it seems to get rid of the albatross around the soulknife's neck that is dependence on an otherwise unusable power point pool. A lot of people already let the class freely gestalt with a certain paladin wannabe incarnum class that shall remain nameless, because other than that and soulbow there's not a real reason to play either as is. So yeah, my vote is with the third one.

Last edited by Martimus Prime; 2016-10-12 at 02:16 AM.
Reason: I accidentally a letter

Re: Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

I wanted more dual-system (as in, two power sources) classes for a while, but I can't make them quite work. The psionic/sublime base class Soul Knife should be ideal for that, really.

I solemnly swear,
To devote my life and abilities,
In defence of the United Nations of Earth,
To defend the Constitution of Man,
And to further the universal rights of all sentient life.
From the depths of the pacific, to the edge of the galaxy.
For as long as I shall live.

Re: Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

I'm going to throw in a vote for Invoker Soulknife. I know I've seen a Sublime Soulknife before that was pretty good, and I think I've seen Incarnum Soulknives (or at least merging Soulknife and Soulborn), but the Invoker Soulknife is new.

Originally Posted by AmberVael

Seriously though. I just don't want to see another setting with the same uninspiring oatmeal polytheism blend.

Re: Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

While DSP is my jam, of the three options, the Incarnum one looks awesome. Especially if one can figure out how to make this idea work for DSP's Akashic Mysteries, which is basically Magic of Incarnum,Pathfinder Edition.

Re: Three Ideas for a Soulknife Fix (Vote for your favorite to have made)

Concept

Votes

Notes

Sublime

2

-

Invoker

2

-

Meldshaping

4

Will not have a new chakra (too much work), Akashic compatibility will be based on the whim of the gods

Originally Posted by digiman619

While DSP is my jam, of the three options, the Incarnum one looks awesome. Especially if one can figure out how to make this idea work for DSP's Akashic Mysteries, which is basically Magic of Incarnum,Pathfinder Edition.

I have just gotten familiar enough with incarnum (after essentially reconstructing it in making my entry for the current base class challenge, it's voting, has some cool classes this time I like the Epicurean, though the Arcane Pugilist is better balanced, and I of course think mine is the best... back on topic) to consider making this incarnum based, my familiarity with PF is low, and with Akashic Mysteries is... I think they make the soulmelds more 'here is new action you can take' and less 'here is +X to roll' but I can't even say that with any accuracy. So I'm going to say if it works with Akashic Mysteries it'll be by pure accident/the system being close enough to MoI to simply work as is.

Soulblade: Move action to form. Can be formed as a light (1d6, 18-20/x2), one-handed (1d10, 19-20/x2), or two handed (2d6, 19-20/x2) weapon. At 1st level pick Slashing, Piercing, or Bludgeoning for its damage type. At nth level (5th?) pick a second damage type, and gain ability to switch between them as a move or swift action each round. At n2th level (10th? 11th?) can be all three damage types. It counts as a masterwork weapon. Dismiss as a free action. Invest essentia into it to grant it an enhancement bonus to hit and damage equal to invested essentia. If 3 or more essentia is invested overcomes DR based upon weapon material. If 5 or more essentia is invested overcomes alignment based DR. If 6 or more essentia is invested is considered an epic weapon. May bind Soulblade to unlocked chakras as if it were a Soulknife soulmeld.

Chakra Bind Effects (Soulblade):

Hands: You may throw your soulblade. If thrown one handed it deals 1d6+Str damage with 19-20/x2 crit and 30 ft range increment (max 5 increments), if thrown two-handed it deals 1d10+1-1/2 Str damage and has a 10 ft range increment.

Crown: Ignore concealment less than total on attacks with Soulblade.

Feet: Teleport 10 (5?) ft with each attack you make with your Soulblade.

Waist: Soulblade becomes a trip weapon, gain a +2 on trip attempts when using the Soulblade to initiate the trip, increasing by +1 per size category larger than you the opponent is, a +4 on opposed rolls made as part of a Disarm attempt involving your Soulblade, and a +2 to hit with Sunder attacks using your Soulblade. When using your Soulblade to trip, disarm, or sunder you do not provoke attacks of opportunity for your trip, disarm, or sunder attempt.

Heart: Make an extra attack with your soulblade at no penalty when you make a full attack, stacks with haste.

Soul: Form soul armor to go with soulblade. Either Mithral Chain Shirt, Mithral Full-Plate, or Adamantine Battle-Plate. You are auto-proficient in it. Has Soulblade's enhancement bonus. Probably has a (preset) special quality as well.

Soulblade Cap: You may put more essentia in your soulblade than normal capacity. Cap, including character level based increases on essentia capacity in general, is 1 at 1-2, 2 at 3-5, 3 at 6-8 (overcomes all materials), 4 at 9-11, 5 at 12-14 (overcomes alignment), 6 at 15-17, 7 at 18-19, and 8 at 20th.

Soulblade Special Quality: Assign weapon special qualities to your soulblade, reassign them by taking X minutes in concentration. Max total level assigned based on class level.

Incarnum Feat: At 4th, 10th, and 16th level gains a bonus Incarnum Feat that they fulfill the prerequisites for. This replaces a soulmeld and point of essentia an incarnate would gain.

Soulstrike: At 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th level a Soulknife gains a soulstrike from {list} which they meet the level prerequisite for. To use a soulstrike a Soulknife must invest essentia into it. While essentia is invested a soulknife can use that soulstrike up to a number of times equal to the amount invested, afterwhich point they must meditate 1 minute to regain uses. Regardless of the amount of essentia invested into Soulstrikes a Soulknife may not use them more often between meditations than their essentia capacity (so a 7th level soulknife with 2 essentia invested into both of their 2 soulstrikes can use each of them once or one twice before meditating, but not each twice, the same soulknife with 1 essentia invested into both of their 2 soulstrikes could use each of them once but neither twice). Once essentia is invested into a Soulstrike it takes 1 hour of meditation or rest to remove it. Each Soulstrike is a Standard action to use.

Re-invest Incarnum: At 6th level a soulknife gains the ability to 1/day as a swift action uninvest essentia from each Soulstrike, Greater Soulstrike, Incarnum feat, soulmeld, magic item, and soulblade they possess. As part of the same action they may reinvest any essentia uninvested this way, including into Incarnum Feats that already had essentia invested into them that day. Expended daily abilities based upon invested essentia (such as some feats grant) remain expended. At 18th level they can use this 2/day.

Greater Soulstrikes: Gained at 15th, 17th, and 19th level, these function as Soulstrikes except that each one can only be used 1/meditation, and essentia invested is the number of daily uses of that greater soulstrike available, and greater soulstrikes' essentia capacity is reduced by 1. They count against the number of Soulstrikes per encounter still.

Examples: Attack any number of targets within line of effect; make 2 full attacks (as a standard action); attack destroys target (Will save negates or reduces to damage); allies' weapons gain your soulblade's enhancement bonus and may (at their choice made when the ability is used) use its special qualities in place of their own for {Duration}; more to come.

CAPSTONE: I don't know. Thinking about giving them the ability to bind their Soulblade to 2 chakras (at the cost of 2 chakra binds) at some point and capstone of bind it to any number (so could bind it to 5), or maybe not give them the dual bind at all till 20th and make it only take 1 chakra bind. Maybe something else.